Feed Management

Experienced venison producers acknowledge that good feed management is essential and the concept of strategic feeding when the animals have their natural ability to grow in autumn and spring is being widely adopted.

Among the issues that need to be understood are seasonality and the effects on: the growth on young deer, their feed requirements and practical day to day management.

Deer will make nearly 40% of their annual weight gain in spring, so supplying the highest quality pasture is a major priority at this time from as early as late August when the growth spurt kicks in.

A failure to meet target weights gives early warning that feed management needs fine tuning.  This is important for deer because of their seasonal growth cycle.  An ability to grow well in spring and summer must be efficiently utilised, since opportunities lost then cannot be caught up in winter.  Weighing at the end of autumn, winter and summer is ideal to monitor progress.